Willemse, Kriel and Jantjies to start against Wales
Damian Willemse, Jesse Kriel and Herschel Jantjies will start against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has made four changes to his matchday squad that defeated the All Blacks for their opening Test of their northern hemisphere tour.
Willemse will earn his fourth start in the green and gold when he runs out at fullback, while it will be Jantjies’ third Test in the No 9 jersey as he pairs up with Handré Pollard in the halfback combination.
Kriel, who starts at right wing, will earn his 49th cap.
Willemse comes in for Willie le Roux in a rotational switch, and Jantjies takes over from Faf de Klerk who was ruled out of the squad due to a hip flexor injury. Kriel replaces Sbu Nkosi, who is yet to travel to the UK as he awaits the necessary paperwork.
Jantjies’ promotion to the starting line-up sees Cobus Reinach being drafted onto the replacements bench in the only change among the reserves.
“We selected this squad with an eye on maintaining consistency in selection from the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, but at the same time giving players who have been knocking on the door for a while now an opportunity to play,” said Nienaber.
“Damian and Herschel have featured off the bench a fair bit and this is a fantastic opportunity to give them a chance to start as we look to build our squad depth with an eye on the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
“Jesse has also been training hard; he is very experienced and he brings the physicality that will be necessary against Wales.”
Nienaber expects Wales to pose a big threat, especially as the Six Nations champions will be playing with a near full-strength squad and given the fact that the Boks have not won in Cardiff since 2013.
“Wales are a tough side to beat and our track record over here in the last few years is evidence of that,” said Nienaber.
“We also edged them in the Rugby World Cup semi-final, so we know that this is going to be a hard grind of a Test.”
